The women’s golf team won their eighth national championship this summer.
This number of wins is more than any other women’s golf team in National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics history, according to OCUsports.com.
The tournament took place May 23-26 on the PGA National Squire Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
“We were very fortunate last year to have an experienced team,” said Marty McCauley, head women’s golf coach. “We had five seniors with a lot of experience, and that was certainly an advantage for us.”
Senior Golfers Anna Mikish, Caroline Goodin, Kailey Campbell, Katie Lee-Wilson, and Raegan Barnes were all honored as NAIA All-Americans at least once, and awarded four Sooner Athletic Conference Championships and two NAIA National Championships during their time at OCU, McCauley said.
McCauley has been the head coach for seven years. He’s led the team to three national titles during his tenure.
“Winning a national championship is never an easy accomplishment,” McCauley said. “I give 100 percent of the credit to our girls. They all believed in one another and loved one another, and that was the main reason we were able to accomplish our goal of winning a national title.”
Mikish, Sophomore Golfer Melissa Eldredge and Junior Golfer Savannah Moody finished within the top 15 individuals at the tournament.
“Honestly, I still feel like this isn’t real sometimes,” Eldredge said. “It’s amazing that all the hard work of the team paid off in the highest sense that it could.”
Mikish tied for sixth place individually, while Moody and Eldredge tied for 11th place individually, gaining them spots on the All-Tournament Team.
“My plans moving forward are to continue the winning tradition of the golf team in years to come while obtaining my degree order to attend dental school, and, of course, having a blast with my teammates along the way,” Eldredge said.
OCU led the national championship tournament with 168 pars made.
“This year’s team returns four letter winners and brings in four new student athletes,” McCauley said. “As a group, we never speak of expectations. We focus on the process of improving each and every day. I look forward to watching the process of this group. It’s a very exciting time for our program.”
The NAIA also announced that OCU will host the NAIA Women’s Golf National Championships for the first time in 2019-20. It will be played at Lincoln Park Golf Course in Oklahoma City.
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